What do I need to lay vinyl flooring in my bathroom?

Chelsea
by Chelsea
We live in an old single wide trailer and are remodeling the bathroom because it's absolutely horrid. It had 20 year old carpet. I mean...gross.
Anyways we're ready to rip that nastiness out and we can't get many straight answers from the Internet in what type of subfloor and underlayment we need for a bathroom if we're putting cheap peal and sick vinyl flooring.
Also we'll be treating out the sheet vinyl in the kitchen and laundry area, should we be concerned with asbestos because of the she of the house?
  9 answers
  • Shirley Midgett Shirley Midgett on Mar 10, 2016
    I have 15 year old peel and stick tile in my kitchen and it is great altho not fashionable! It is laid over old linoleum which is over a concrete foundation. Know that if water stands on it, like a leaky dishwasher, the tile can come loose. I just stick it back with gorilla glue and it is fine; I also kept a few extra tiles but have never needed them. Mine was actually put down by a handyman, he removed and replaced the quarter round over the tile for a nice finished look. Elsewhere in my house I also have vinyl plank flooring which is harder to put down but also water resistant. It was put down over a plastic underlayment on concrete foundation.
  • Shirley Midgett Shirley Midgett on Mar 10, 2016
    If your subfloor is in good condition you might consider just "painting" it with some kind of epoxy paint, something made for outdoors or boats might work OK in a bathroom. This might be a good thing to put under your tile too just to preserve your subfloor. Good luck!
  • Nana moving on Nana moving on on Mar 10, 2016
    Your subfloor is probably cheap chipboard that swells when it gets wet if someone hasn't replaced it already. If you want to do it once and be done use Durock concrete board either as a replacement or cover subfloor. Screw it down with coated screws that wont rust and use waterproof mastic to cover the screw dimples and seams. It's a little more prep work to begin with but then you will be done and not have to worry about it later down the road. Durock is not that expensive either. Get it at Lowes or Home Depot or your local big box building supplier.
  • Moxie Moxie on Mar 11, 2016
    I would suggest luane board
  • CityGirl Rajan CityGirl Rajan on Mar 11, 2016
    I would recommend laun over the subfloor. The thinnest one they have in Lowes or homedepot. The cheapest one is fine. Staple it down and put the vinyl directly over this. I did this and my floors are perfect.
  • Darla Darla on Mar 11, 2016
    I would either put down a thin plywood subfloor like luan (since that particle board will deteriorate really fast if it gets wet) under the tiles, or just use the interlocking vinyl planks if the bath is not too big. They are waterproof and a floating floor, just snap together. but they do cost more than peel and stick most of the time.
    • Chelsea Chelsea on Mar 11, 2016
      We don't want to do those because of the cost. We aren't living here for the long term but we have kids and this piss soaked carpet in the bathroom is no Bueno with a baby crawling around lol.
  • Nana moving on Nana moving on on Mar 12, 2016
    then I would suggest measure the bathroom and go to a carpet outlet to find a remnant of the rubberized vinyl a little bigger than your measurements. It's a little difficult to do but with some maneuvering you can get it down with a box cutter tool and only have to glue the outside perimeters. Just make sure thee are no staples or nail heads sticking up anywhere and no holes or divits deeper than 1/16" or it could show through depending on the thickness of your remnant
  • Susanroy36 Susanroy36 on Mar 12, 2016
    Yes - pull up the rug right away. You may find vinyl under there!! If not, get the floor ready for the peel and stick that is inexpensive at box home store. Clean the old area really good. Then I painted my floor with oops latex paint so it is sealed, and lay the vinyl. It will be an easy, quick and inexpensive fix. I did this in my trailer and it worked good.
    • Chelsea Chelsea on Mar 13, 2016
      Thank You Susanroy36 There's definitely no vinyl under it. There was only on previous owner and they didn't do any home improvements 😣
  • Diana Deiley Diana Deiley on Mar 12, 2016
    Can you believe carpeting in the bathroom was in style at one time? Yuk! I agree, rip it out immediately and thoroughly clean the floor. You can always paint the floor with deck paint until you decide or have the budget for something else. Best of luck.
    • See 1 previous
    • Diana Deiley Diana Deiley on Mar 13, 2016
      @Darla True. I would paint it with Kilz2 first. Two thin coats will work, but let both dry thoroughly before painting it with the porch/deck paint. OR you could pick up a box of self adhesive tiles and lay them out creating a new look all together. This is all temporary until your budget allows something more permanent.